No long goodbyes

Caray leaves Cubs booth for Atlanta

With the 2004 season over, here's the wrapup from the Chicago Cubs broadcast booth: Chip Caray is going. Steve Stone wants to stay, but he could be going too.

Caray called his last Cubs game Sunday, disclosing afterward that he had taken a job with the Atlanta Braves, where he will be reunited with his father, Skip.

Stone is still caught up in speculation that he could be out because of the fallout from comments he has made about the Cubs and Dusty Baker.

After Caray announced that he wasn't returning, Stone said to his partner, "I look for better days down the road. Maybe we'll run into each other again. Who knows? It may be sooner than we think."

Later, when asked if he expected to return, Stone said, "Yes." Stone's contract calls for a team option on whether to bring him back for 2005.

Caray's new deal is for significantly more money, and the Cubs could have matched the offer but opted against it. He said the money was only part of his decision and that the new job gets him closer to his family's home in Orlando.

Caray insisted his decision had nothing to do with the acrimony that had developed between the team and the announcers during the season.

Four possible successors

Pat Hughes: Would the Cubs break up the popular radio team of Hughes and Ron Santo?

Jon Miller: He would head the list, but it's highly unlikely there would be a fit with his ESPN commitments.